Chinese Navy ships pass through int`l waters near Okinawa

Tokyo: A destroyer and a frigate of the Chinese Navy passed through international waters between the southwestern Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako toward the Pacific Ocean, the Defence Ministry has said.

It was the first time yesterday that Chinese military vessels were seen passing through the waters since April, when two submarines and eight other ships were observed, it said.

Japan`s Defence Ministry has been keeping close tabs on the Chinese Navy`s activities, especially long-distance voyages that have been increasingly aggressive in recent years.
The Chinese Navy was reportedly planning to conduct a large-scale exercise in the East China Sea from late June through early July. But it is not known whether the two ships observed yesterday have anything to do with the exercise.